New Beginnings
by mionedisgized
Summary: I own nothing but my own twisted imagination : all credit for characters and recognizable references goes to JK Rowling because she is brilliant. After being betrayed Hermione starts over
1. Chapter 1

He watched as her face fell lower. Her eyes had been closed for nearly twenty minutes, each second her face drooped closer to the book laid out on the table before her until finally she rested her cheek upon the pages. A small smile crossed his face and his emerald eyes rolled in amusement. "Mione," he whispered quietly. A small snuffling noise was his only response. His grin widened as he lifted her in his arms and carried her to her room.

He lay her on her bed, removed her shoes then pulled her blanket up over her. "Night," he whispered, brushing a kiss over her cheek and leaving her alone.

"Harry!" The sharp sound of his friends voice startled him as he pulled her door closed.

"Shh... what is it Ron?" He turned to face the tall red head.

"Why are you coming out of her room this late?" He ignored the accusing tone and chuckled slightly.

"She fell asleep in the Library again. I was putting her to bed." Ron nodded, though Harry suspected he didn't believe him. Ever since Hermione had turned him down Ron had been convinced there was something going on between the two of them. With a quick smile at his friend, Harry retreated to his own room, setting his silencing spell so his nightmares didn't disturb his roommates.

Ron felt fury racing through his blood as he watched his best mate walk away with a stupid smile on his face. It wasn't enough that he was Harry bloody Potter, who always got everything, he had to go and take Hermione as well. It wasn't the first time he'd resented Harry, in fact it wasn't even the tenth. He'd resented his best friend on more occasions than he could count, but knew damn well that no matter how much Harry pissed him off, there was no way Ron could end the friendship.

Not because Harry wouldn't let him, Harry was too passive to truly fight for anything personal. He only fought when others told him to, never of his own volition. No, Harry wasn't the one keeping him in the this unhealthy friendship, nor was it Hermione, though she played a large part in it. No, what truly kept him here was everyone else. If he walked away from Harry, he was quite sure he'd be disowned and Harry given his place in the family.

Yes, his family would be furious, but the general public would annihilate him. He would never be able to show his face in wizarding Britain again. The press would hound him, he'd probably receive daily howlers as well. His face darkened with each thought that passed through his head. No, he couldn't walk away from Harry, no matter how much he wanted to. But he could take back what should have rightfully been his anyway.

He smirked as he took a step closer to Hermione's room. His eyes darted to Harry's closed door and he could feel his lips twisting in a Malfoyish smirk. One, step, two steps... his hand was on the doorknob. He stepped in, pulling the door closed behind him and locking it with a spell. Another flick of his wrist and muttered incantation raised a silencing spell on the room.

He stepped closer to the girl sleeping before him. Sure, she was bossy and bookish and wholly annoying at times, but when she was like this he remembered why he wanted her. Her ting top or whatever it was called had ridden up, exposing her flat stomach, her breasts were heavenly, just the right size to fill his hands, her shorts exposed her long legs and graceful ankles. He licked his lips as he watched her chest rise and fall with each breath.

He nearly fell over when she moaned and said, "Mmm that's good..." it fit so neatly with his own internal fantasy that he couldn't stop himself from taking a step closer, then another...

"_Janie love, try this one," her mother handed her another bite of flavored ice and she felt a small moan escape her at the taste. "Mmm, that's good," she leaned over to read the label and felt something tickle her neck. She brushed it off, but the tickling persisted in a most irritating manner._

_The comfortable atmosphere in Italy suddenly became stifling as she felt something weighing down on her. She instinctively reached for her wand, and felt her arms being pulled over her head. "No!" she screamed internally. "It's over! This isn't supposed to happen, not now, not when we've finally ended it!" The colors over Venice bled together into a dark cloud and she screamed again. "Harry! Help me Harry!" _

"_He can't hear you. You're such a lying fucking cunt, the both of you," the voice was familiar and she could only assume the Death Eater had used polyjuice potion to get close enough to hurt her._

_She tossed her head back and forth, "no, no no no no...." _

"_Oh shut up. That's your biggest problem, you never know when to shut..." he thrust into her and she screamed again, "the fuck," another thrust, "UP!" Tears dripped down her face as he violated her virgin body in a degrading and painful way, insulting her with every thrust._

"_No, no..." _she opened her eyes to find Ron glaring down at her while he thrust painfully into her. "No!" She stared at him in horror as her body trembled beneath the onslaught. _It couldn't be... Ron wouldn't... _"Ron..." she whimpered and he smirked down at her. His face twisted as he began to thrust harder until finally she felt something hot and wet dripping from a place that had never been used in that manner.

"Let's see how much he wants you now." He smirked as he jumped off of her, pulling his slacks back up and strutting out of her room without a backward glance.

She lay on her bed in shock for several moments before rising and locking her door. Tears wracked her as she packed her belongings swiftly, using a cleansing charm to remove the 'essence of Ron' and hastily departed Grimmauld Place.

Once she was far from Grimmauld and _him_, she found herself at a loss. Her parents were in Australia, with no memory of her and there old house would be the first place someone would look for her. She had very few friends, no family and little money on hand.

She looked around, realizing she had no idea where she was. Apparating blindly was never a good idea, she was lucky she hadn't splinched herself. Realizing that if she hadn't a clue where she was then no one else would either, she allowed herself a moment to relax.

She fell to the sand, staring out at the waves gently lapping the shore and dissolved into tears. _Why would Ron do that? _It was all she could think about, no matter how hard she tried to push it from her mind. Her body refused to let her forget, aching in places that had never ached before. She completely lost herself in dispare, sobs wracking her frail body as the memory of his hate filled eyes filled her mind.

"This is a private beach, you shouldn't..." she looked up at the voice and cursed the gods. "Granger? What the hell are you doing here?"


	2. Chapter 2

Harry woke the next morning and made his way to the kitchen. He was surprised when he entered it and found Kreacher muttering in front of the stove. "Kreacher? I thought..."

Kreacher glared at him and he fell into silence. Although the house elf still managed most of the chores around Grimmauld, Hermione had taken over the kitchen. After their miserable meals while on the run she'd been determined to never be in such a situation again and had bought every cookbook she could find, wizarding as well as muggle and studied all of them cover to cover. He wasn't surprised she'd become quite good at it, after all it wasn't much different from potions when you thought about it.

With a nervous look at his extremely tetchy house elf, Harry left the kitchen and made his way towards the bedroom level. While it wasn't unusual for Ron to sleep in, Hermione rarely stayed in bed past seven in the morning, and then only if she was sick or injured.

He stopped in front of her door, took a deep breath and knocked. "Mione? You alright?" There was no answer and he became nervous. His hand fell on the doorknob and with a last knock he said, "I'm coming in." He opened the door expecting to see her asleep in her bed, or sitting up with a sickly look on her face. What he hadn't expected was for the room to look as though a battle had been waged.

The bedsheets were scattered everywhere, papers left abandoned, but on closer look he realized quickly that everything important was gone. She had packed and departed in a hurry taking everything that meant something to her and leaving behind what wasn't vital. He looked frantically for a note, some sort of explanation, but found nothing. "Dammit!" he yelled.

"Harry? Blimey, what happened in here?" Ron's sleepy voice called him from his spiraling darkness.

"I don't know. Kreacher was making breakfast so I came up to see if she was alright. This..." he gestured, "is what I found. Where could she have gone Ron? It's not safe for her out there... Dolohov is still free, and... and..." the mere thought of losing anyone else was traumatizing for him. So many had been lost already, but the war was over and Hermione... well she was family. He needed her, she was all he had left.

"We'll find her Harry, maybe... maybe she's at her mum and dad's. let me get dressed, we'll go look for her okay?" Harry nodded absently as Ron walked away, failing to note the dark look on his friends face.

"Bloody Harry Potter, the saint." He growled as he shut his bedroom door behind him.

They searched for hours but found no trace of her. Evening found them back in the sitting room of Grimmauld Place, both staring moodily into the dancing flames. "Why'd she leave like that?" Harry finally said into the silence.

"I dunno, why are you asking me?" Ron's tone was defensive, raising Harry's suspicions, though he hid them well.

"Um, maybe because you're her best friend too?"

"Bloody Hell Harry, I don't have a clue how that witch's mind works. Never have and probably never will..."

Harry laughed softly. "You make a good point Ron."

Ron hid his chuckle at Harry's blind faith. He'd never been as stupid as everyone assumed, he was in fact, quite clever. It was just hard to measure up when compared with people like Harry and Hermione. He smirked slightly, though only with the side of his mouth facing away from Harry. Potter hadn't been the only one the Sorting Hat wanted to send to Slytherin. He cast his eyes to the side and grimaced at the shattered look on the boy hero's face. _Such a putz_, he scoffed silently. _Should have been a Hufflepuff._


	3. Chapter 3

I own nothing, so suing me would be a waste of time.

~3~

"_This is a private beach, you shouldn't..." she looked up at the voice and cursed the gods. "Granger? What the hell are you doing here?"_

Hermione couldn't believe her luck. Of all the places she could have ended up, why there?

"It wasn't intentional I assure you," her voice was subdued, her manner stiff as she stood before a wizard she'd hoped never to see again. "I apologize for ... well nothing actually. I'm leaving now." She grasped her silver beaded bag tightly in one hand, her wand in the other, and fixed a more... comfortable place in her mind.

"Wait!" His hand shot out and grasped her wrist just as she was about to turn.

"What?" She demanded fiercely, desperate to be away. Her eyes narrowed on the long elegant fingers fixed on her wrist.

"You... you really shouldn't be apparating in such a state," he said, releasing his grasp.

She scoffed, "What do you care if I splinch myself? Besides, I made it here and I was in a much worse state..." she broke off, not wanting to delve any deeper into that subject.

"Right," he drawled sardonically, he had caught what she'd said, but also noticed rather quickly that she had no wish to talk about it. "And where is here exactly?"

She looked up, noting his raised eyebrow and tilted lips and was stunned to find that he was actually quite attractive. She looked around to distract herself from such thoughts before finally shrugging her shoulders. "No clue."

He laughed. It was surprisingly light and nearly brought a smile to her lips, but she fought it back. "Know it all Granger doesn't have a clue?"

She shrugged again, finally allowing a sheepish smile to cross her lips. "I was just trying to get away, wasn't much concerned with where I landed."

His eyes narrowed at that statement. Though they were by no means friends, he knew enough about her to realize that was a statement completely at odds with her character.

"My house is just down the beach... you could rest a bit..." he looked away, avoiding her too knowing eyes.

"And why would I do that?"

"Merlin Granger, the war is over, we aren't in school, just two teenagers on a beach. You look... well. You look like you need to rest, I have a place not far and..."

She sighed. He was right. She did need to rest, but accepting help from him almost seemed like a betrayel. With that thought came a painful reminder of what had brought her here. No, her accepting help would not be a betrayal, what her best friend had done to her, that was betrayal. She nodded her head in defeat and asked. "Are your parents there?"

He eyed her with understanding. "No. They don't come here, it's my house." She shouldn't be surprised that he had his own place. She fell into step next to him, ignoring all of the reasons why this was a bad idea and just being thankful she wasn't alone. Sure, they weren't friends, but he'd been kind and though he'd often verbally assaulted her, he'd never once laid a hand on her.

It was strange that she'd feel so comfortable so quickly with someone she'd fought with for years. Even stranger that she felt safe, safer than with the people she'd called friend for her entire school career and beyond.

She wasn't blaming Harry for what Ron had done, but at the same time was sure that he'd take Ron's side somehow. He always did after all. A sort of numbness began to sweep over her with each thought, brought on by her brutal loss of innocence. It was ironic that she'd made it through the war, through torture and heartache, and danger only to lose everything in what should have been the recovery time.

Tears would have been understandable, though she'd spent hours crying already, but she refused to allow them to fill her eyes. She would never again allow herself to be weak. Never again would she be helpless. Her dry eyes shot to the man next to her.


	4. Chapter 4

The world of Harry Potter and all characters and recognizable references belongs to JK Rowling. I just like to play there.

~4~

It had been two weeks with no word from her. Harry and Ron had looked everywhere they could think of but found nothing. They'd even gone so far as to report her disappearance to the Ministry. A search had been initiated, after all, she was a War Hero as well as a highly sought commodity. The Ministry had been trying to recruit her since sixth year.

The Auror department had come up with nothing and Harry was getting impatient. He wanted her found. As he sat alone in the kitchen drinking a cup of tea, he considered his options. Ron was useless, something he'd long suspected but recently had confirmed. Whenever Harry felt he was close to something, Ron somehow managed to screw it up, so he knew that if he wanted whatever plan he came up with to work, he'd have to do it alone.

And therein lay his problem. He'd never done it alone. Ever since first year, any trouble he'd come across, Ron and Hermione had been with him. He didn't have a clue how to even begin to find her. After all, if trained Aurors hadn't located her, how could he? Tears trailed down his cheeks as he begged any God listening to keep her safe.

*

She glared at him as a jinx flew just past her ear, her eyes blazing in fury. For two weeks they'd done nothing but duel and verbally eviscerate each other. Her eyes narrowed further even as she attempted to hide the grin seeping through. Fighting with him was the most fun she'd had in ages!

She didn't like him, so hurting him during their duels didn't phase her. He was intelligent enough to catch her subtle insults and witty enough to return them. It had become a game of sorts. She trusted him, sort of. Sure he was a Snake and she despised him on principle, but he wouldn't kill her in her sleep. After all, he'd want the knowledge that it was _him_ to be in the fore front of her mind if he ever killed her.

They'd developed an odd sort of love/hate relationship. Well no, developed was the wrong word, it had been present since the first time they'd met, but it had changed since she'd accidently disapparated onto his beach..

"Granger? Did you fall asleep?" She shook herself from her thoughts and found a sheepish grin creeping across her face. Without warning a ton of water fell on her.

"Oh you son of a ..."

"Now now, my mother is a very nice woman, don't insult her."

"Alright... you piece of pureblood shit."

"Oohh. Very nice Granger, I'm almost insulted." He laughed.

"You think you're funny don't you?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"I hate you."

He laughed again, eyes sparkling in the dawning moonlight. "Oh believe me darling, it's mutual."

She rolled her eyes and turned back towards his house. Instinct had her raising her shield charm just before a jelly legs jinx flew past her. "Coward," she called over her shoulder.

"Duh, Slytherin." She rolled her eyes, smirking as she wondered if his classmates had any idea how low his opinion was of them. Then again, it wasn't just his own housemates, from what she could tell he didn't respect anyone.

*

She sat down at the table, passing a plate towards him as she loaded her own with fresh fruit and cheese. He took his, loading it with meats as well as cheese and fruit. "So," he said and she raised an eyebrow at him. He didn't look up, studying his plate carefully as he asked, "You planning to let Potty and Weasel know your alive?"

Her fork fell to the table, echoing loudly in the silent room. "What?" He hadn't asked what had brought her to his beach, nor had he asked anything about her friends or mentioned his own. It seemed that on his island they were the only ones who existed.

"They've been looking for you. Aurors have been searching for you when they could be hunting down criminals. It's been in the Prophet, I left it out for you. I thought you saw it?" Now he was studying her closely. The air suddenly felt a lot colder as chills erupted over her body. Her eyes were darting anxiously for an escape route. "Hey, calm down. I haven't told anyone you're here and I won't. If you don't want to be found, you won't be."

She nodded jerkily. "Thank you. I... I... I'm not ready." He nodded, dropping it for the moment. But he was curious now and that was a bad thing. She ate quickly and excused herself to the guest room.

She cast her standard locking and silencing charm before falling onto the bed and allowing the tears to fall. It wasn't Harry's fault and he didn't deserve to suffer for Ron, but facing him meant accepting that it had all actually happened. Then came the decisions. Did she keep it from Harry so as not to mess up his friendship with Ron? Could she do that? This was part of why she'd avoided dealing. The other part, well, that was the real kicker.

How do you accept that one of two people you've trusted with your life in every possible manner for all of your informative years had violated you in such a way? It had happened, she knew it had, but she couldn't reconcile the event with the perpetrator and until she could get it straight in her head she couldn't possibly face either of them.

At the same time, she couldn't leave Harry suffering while she tried to heal. She sighed. She stood and made her way to the door, opening it to find him standing there with a quill, ink and parchment, topped with a smug smirk.

"Oh shut it!" She slammed the door in his face, quickly wrote a note to Harry and returned to her door. He stood with an owl on his arm, "I hate you," she said good-naturedly, retrieving the bird and attaching her message. She closed the door for a moment to give the bird her special instructions before letting it go and rejoining him in the Parlor.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I'm horrible for waiting to update this long and I'm sorry it's so short... my muse is distracted by shiny things. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed._

_Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the owner of the PotterVerse, I merely play in her playground._

_Dear Harry,_

_Please forgive me for leaving the way that I did. I never meant to worry you I just needed time to myself. I won't tell you where I am just yet because I know you will come for me and I'm not ready yet. I need you to stop looking for me now, I will return when I've figured things out. Until then, know that I am safe and I am thinking of you_

_All of my love,_

_Hermione_

For hours Harry had been watching an eagle owl stalking him. Every time he was alone the owl would approach, only to retreat when somebody else came near. Finally his curiosity got the better of him and he absented himself from Ron just long enough to receive the message it carried. His eyes darkened as he read the message, a petulant grimace crossing his face.

The owl had departed as soon as it had deposited it's message, but it didn't matter, he'd seen it often enough in school to recognize who it belonged to. He was utterly baffled for numerous reasons, including, why had the message only contained his name rather than his and Ron's as usual? Why had the owl not approached until he was alone? And most importantly, why the bloody hell was Hermione sending him a message using Malfoy's owl?

For several long moments he considered a visit to Malfoy Manor but knew that under no circumstances would Hermione return there. Thus, she was somewhere else. With Malfoy. His eyes narrowed as he sat silently in what used to be Sirius' room, but was now his. His mind was racing, but the only conclusion he came to was that he trusted Hermione implicitly. If she was choosing to spend time with Malfoy, rather than here with her friends, there had to be a reason.

He knew that the younger Malfoy had not been a willing deatheater and trusted Hermione to protect herself, but this was not something he could just let go, so he made his way to the Library where he retrieved pen and parchment and jotted down a quick message. Calling for Aloysius, his new owl, he instructed the bird on delivery, then made his way to the Ministry to call off the search.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: a bit of a longer one just to make up for the long wait...

6.

They were sitting down to eat when an owl flew through the window. Hermione's eyes widened and she held out a trembling hand to the beast, who completely ignored her and landed next to Malfoy's plate. Grimacing Malfoy extended one hand to retrieve the message. The bird watched him with beady black eyes before releasing it's package and hopping over to the witch that he knew well.

Hermione gently stroked the owls head while feeding it a piece of bacon, her eyes focused on Malfoy and the parchment he held in his hands. The Slytherin held the parchment but had yet to open it, his eyes raising to meet hers. "Think it's got a curse on it?" He asked, only half joking.

She shook her head. "No, if he wanted you dead you'd be that way already." He glared at her, opening his mouth to retort and she rolled her eyes. "Honestly Malfoy, how many times did he pull your ass out of danger during the battle? Why would he send you a hexed letter now?"

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. "Oh I don't know, maybe because you're here? Think Granger, you're probably the only person left in the world Potty _would _kill for." He was opening the parchment then and after reading it he burst into guffaws. Hermione stared in wonder at the change laughter wrought on the ferret's features. He was actually ... almost attractive. Her eyes narrowed and a grimace crossed her face as she considered the thought. He handed her the letter and she closed her eyes for a moment before reading the words.

_Malfoy,_

_Hurt her and I'll kill you._

Looking up she met his eyes and slowly began to giggle. The giggles became chuckles and then full blown laughter as she reread the words. "Alright," she choked out, "maybe you do know a little something about him."

He shook his head, laughter having abated, but a smirk playing on his lips. "I know more than a bit Granger. I went to school with you lot for a long time." His voice lowered and his eyes darkened as they focused on her completely. "I know for instance, that whatever it was that brought you to my island was bad. I know that it has something to do with the Weasel. And I know, that despite popular belief, there is nothing romantic going on between you and Potter and never has been."

Hermione stared at him in shock before spluttering, "You don't know anything about me Malfoy." Despite the fact that he'd spoken only the truth, she refused to believe he could understand her that well.

"Don't I Granger?" He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms behind his head. "I know that you had a crush on Zabini third year. I know that Snape was your favorite teacher despite how cruel he was to you. I know that Weasel has been hot for you since fourth year when he finally noticed that you were a girl. I know that my insulting you hurt a lot more than you let on, though I must give you kudos for concealing it so very well. I know how much it bothered you that Potter always took Weasel's side in every fight the two of you ever had and I suspect that is why you are here rather than going to Potter about whatever happened between the two of you. Do I really need to go on?"

Hermione stared at him in silence before saying nervously, "How do you know all of that Malfoy? Not that I'm saying you're right," she said quickly, "but what makes you think those things."

He snorted. "I'm right. And I _know _these things because I spent a lot more time than I should have watching the three of you. Since that first day, when Potter chose Weasel over me I've been trying to figure out why." He snorted again, "Still haven't come to a reasonable conclusion other than Potter's a fool... but that one's been reinforced several times over the years, so maybe it's the only one."

She snorted. "Really Malfoy? You still haven't figured it out? Let me give you a hint, you were a bullying prat?" He raised an eyebrow at her past tense, but rather than have her recant her words, he let it slide. Misinterpreting his disbelieving look, Hermione sighed. "Honestly... don't you remember what he looked like the first time you met him? Wearing torn clothes that were too big, broken glasses and too skinny to be healthy..." She looked away. "He spent all of his early childhood being bullied, he wasn't about to take up with one."

He shrugged, "I just thought that was how all muggles looked."

It took several moments for Hermione to wrap her mind about this concept, finally she just rolled her eyes. "Honestly Malfoy, you are such prat."


End file.
